Frederick University (FU) is one of the four recognised private Universities operating in the Republic of Cyprus. It is an energetic and vibrant university, enjoying respect and recognition both nationally and internationally. It offers a broad range of academic programmes of study and has a strong focus on academic research, being one of the leading research organisations in the country.

The University comprises six Schools and 16 Departments and offers 31 programs of Study (20 undergraduate and 11 post graduate). It has around 3700 students, 300 academic and 100 administrative staff. The School of Education and the Nature Conservation Unit of FU have a particular focus upon promoting sustainable development in higher education and awareness on major environmental issues. Since 2009, the School of Education offers an innovative post-graduate programme (MSc) in Education for the Environment and Sustainable Development. The programme places emphasis upon reorienting education towards sustainable development. The programme receives support and co-operation from a number of governmental and non-governmental organisations, such as the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Environmental Education Centres Network, the Ministry of Agriculture Natural Resources and Environment, and several environmental NGOs. Moreover, the undergraduate programs of the Departments of Primary and Pre-primary education include a number of courses on education for the environment and sustainable development. The School of Education is in close cooperation with the Nature Conservation Unit (NCU) of FU. NCU is one of the leading research units of the FU that has developed a wide range of activities in the areas of education for the environment and sustainable development, nature conservation and natural resources management. During the last five years, the NCU has secured and carried out more than 30 research projects (20 as Coordinating organisation) that have been funded by the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus, the European Commission, the United Nations and the Government of Cyprus. Through these projects, the Unit has established close collaborations with a wide range of partners (research institutions, universities, NGOs, governmental services) from Cyprus and abroad and has created contemporary infrastructure.

Many of the FU’s educational and research activities aim at enhancing ESD. Certain of the projects that are mostly related to the proposed project are presented below (the sponsor in brackets):

· CLIMASP - Development of an Interdisciplinary Programme on Climate Change and Sustainability Policy (European Commission).

· ICT- Enabled Education for Sustainable Development (European Commission).

· Education for Sustainable Development as an Induction Framework for Novice Teachers: Quality Educators for Quality Education (Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus and EU Structural Funds).

· Camping, Fitness & Environmental Education (United Nations Development Programme, Action for Cooperation and Trust).

· Environmental Education for Educators (United Nations Development Programme, Action for Cooperation and Trust).

Frederick University places special emphasis on teachers ESD Competences and training and education in ESD (initial and in-service training). For this purpose FU participates in various international and European projects, such as CoDES project. FU is also a member in various international organizations relating to ESD, such as MIO, MEDIES, ENSI. At national level, FU cooperates with various organizations, such as Cyprus Pedagogical Institute and is conducting various courses for teacher’s education and training in ESD.

Role of FU in the project:

• Contribute to the mapping exercise in Cyprus.

· Assist in the development of an online platform of resources as well as get familiarised and review the online tool.

• Contribute to the bi-annual newsletters.

· Provide feedback to the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework.

· Contribute to the dissemination and exploitation of the project outputs, outcomes and future network activities.

· Participate and actively contribute to the discussions generated in regional and annual meetings, seminars and conferences.

Operational and financial management:

· The project team will coordinate the above administrative and academic project activities.

· Financial administration will be handled by the project team who will liaise internally with the institution’s finance department.